Woman arrested after allegedly firing shots at neighbor

Catherine Self and Jim Webre

Published
6:00 pm CST, Thursday, January 4, 2001

A 35-year-old southeast Montgomery County woman was arrested and charged with felony deadly conduct Thursday morning after firing multiple shots from a handgun at or near her neighbor following a dispute over loud music Wednesday night.

Leah Marie Iverson of the 29000 block of Aden Drive in Ascot Farms subdivision was arrested without injury or resistance after Montgomery County Sheriff's Department Special Operations Group entered her single-wide manufactured home after about five hours of waiting for the woman to either come out or talk to authorities by phone.

Iverson reportedly offered no resistance.

Sheriff's Cpl. Denise Janeway said the incident began late Wednesday night when a neighbor objected to loud music played at Iverson's residence.

"Deputies had come out here several times last night to try to settle things down," Janeway said.

As of early Thursday, the visits by patrol deputies had failed to keep the music down, but no violence had been witnessed, Janeway said.

But at about 7:15 a.m., John Loehmann, 30, walked out of his home next door to Iverson to get into his truck to go to work. On Wednesday night, Loehmann had asked Iverson to turn down her music, which Loehmann described as a combination of overly loud country and rock 'n' roll on a stereo system.

"She was alternating. She was playing some country and rock 'n' roll, some Merle Haggard and AC/DC. She likes that. It was kind of a mix. She had the radio on at 4 a.m.," Loehmann said. "At about 7:15 this morning, I was walking out to my truck when I heard I think two shots. She just shot up into the air and my dogs started barking."

Loehmann said Iverson then called him an obscene name.

"Then she fired another shot," Loehmann said, adding another string of expletives joined the fired rounds.

Loehmann told his wife to call the police, and he went inside his house with his wife and 5- and 4-year-old children.

"I heard another shot, but she was shooting up in the air. I ducked, I don't know where (the shots) went," he said.

"She was pointing the gun at me, so I ducked," Loehmann said.

When sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene within 15 minutes, Iverson allegedly remained outside her house and fired several more rounds from the 9 mm semi-automatic pistol before retreating inside her home.

Sheriff's Special Operations team members evacuated the residents of the surrounding mobile homes and tried to send in a special field telephone to talk to the woman, but they got no response, Janeway said.

Sylvia Alcorta and Annnette Bustoz are neighbors with Iverson.

"It's been an ongoing dispute," Bustoz said. "The police were in and out last night a few times to cool things down. She has a gun and thought she needed it to protect her loud music."

Alcorta said she was returning from taking her son to school early Thursday "and there were four Sheriff's cars. They told me I needed to leave because my neighbor was nuts," Alcorta said.

Sheriff's Lt. David Park and Capt. Terry Robertson commanded the tactical team that at about 11:30 a.m. moved on the house through the front door only to find the woman groggy if not asleep.

Iverson's former husband, Mike Thompson, was on the scene speaking with officers, and after Iverson was taken away in a Sheriff's patrol car, Thompson said his and Iverson's 8-year-old daughter, who lives with her father several blocks away, wanted to get the family cat out of the damaged home.

Sheriff's officials said they had not seen a cat in the fracas.

Thompson had no immediate comment, but he did say his daughter lives with him and was not at home at the time of the fired shots.

Felony deadly conduct is a third-degree felony punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and from two to 10 years in state prison.

Iverson remained in Montgomery County Jail Thursday evening and will not have a bond set for her release until Friday morning. An arraignment before a state district judge will happen at a later date.